This year our family was proud to see the Stamas Family Scholarship awarded to Samantha Doherty, an ICU nurse at Epworth Richmond. We recently heard Samantha’s story, and it really emphasised why as a family we are so thrilled to support the Brookes Academy at Epworth.
By funding scholarships like this one, we are able to enable Samantha and her colleagues to build upon their expertise and knowledge within the critical-care space.
Our family is deeply passionate about education, and we have felt firsthand the genuine kindness and support of nurses at Epworth. These scholarships provide really meaningful opportunities, and we’re proud to play our part.
Samantha shared the story of her journey to nursing in a recent edition of the Epworth Medical Foundation Philanthropy Report - the article is here. In the meantime, I am thrilled to share Samantha’s story below.
My story is quite a personal one.
I didn’t initially start out doing nursing. My mum became very ill with cancer when I was in my early 20s. She had a long journey, but what really stood out to us during this incredibly difficult time for our family was the nursing care she received. It brought a smile to her face every day.
Every day you saw her light up because of the care the nurses provided and how genuinely kind they were to her. I thought – I want to be that person who brightens up someone’s day when they’re having a really, really difficult time.
I started my career at Epworth within interventional cardiology. Most commonly we would support
patients who had a heart attack. They would need a stent in the cath labs and all being well they
would be home in a few days to rest and recover.
Today, I work in the ICU. It’s completely different work. We often have patients with us for weeks,
even months – it’s challenging but incredibly rewarding. We do care for the sickest of the sick, and we get to make a difference every single day.
One patient who sticks in my mind is an Irish man who was with us for about four weeks. He came in very unwell, and we got the opportunity to not only get to know him throughout his time with us, but his family as well.
And that’s the beauty of Epworth and the role that we play as nurses. We get to really make this connection with our patients and their families. We found out that he had migrated over from Ireland when he was in his twenties, we learnt about his career in Australia and we got to meet his children and grandchildren.
It’s an amazing opportunity that you would never get in any other job or any other career. Unfortunately, he did pass with us, but it was so special that we got to be there with him and his family during such a vulnerable time. It really reminded me that we are part of that experience with them. That’s something that will stick with me forever.